The Special Powers We All Have
by KelpySpook
Summary: Blossom has her ice breath. Bubbles can speak over five languages and talk to animals. But what is Buttercup's power? And if the girls have unique powers, what about the Rowdyruff Boys? They couldn't have them too, could they? Highschool AU.
1. Prologue

"I think I've figured it out!"

Buttercup raised an eyebrow and turned to her blonde sister. The two super powered twelve year olds were sitting at the side of the pool their father installed in the back yard a few years earlier. They were eating popsicles and dipping their legs in the cool water. The Professor made it a rule that the girls weren't allowed to swim in it unless he was home. The rule didn't make much sense to the three, but they followed it anyway. He could be a bit overprotective at times. So until him and Blossom got back from the grocery store, they were stuck waiting at the side of the pool in the hot, summer heat.

"What? That you should be wearing sunscreen like the Professor told you to?" Buttercup asked, rolling her eyes and turning back to her slowly melting popsicle.

"Like you're one to talk! You never wear sunscreen!" the blonde cried.

"I don't need to. See? I'm tanning," Buttercup grumbled, shoving her tan arm in her sister's face. "Unlike you, you're gonna burn to a crisp! You've got more freckles than Blossom, and she's a ginger!" she laughed.

"I like my freckles. They're cute on me," Bubbles mumbled, shoving her sister's arm away from her. "Anyway, that's not what I was talking about. I mean, I think I figured out your power!"

That certainly got Buttercup's attention. "What are you talking about?" she asked, turning and giving her full attention to Bubbles.

"Y'know, how Blossom's got her ice breath and I can speak three different languages. I think I figured out want you can do. I think you've got super strength!"

"All three of us have super strength, brainless. Besides, we already know my power. I can curl my tongue, remember?" Buttercup asked, sticking her tongue out and demonstrating her tongue curling talent to her sister.

"That's not a power! Mitch can do that too!" Bubbles exclaimed. "And you're stronger than Blossom and me,"

"That's because I work out all the time. I didn't get these sick guns from sitting on the couch all day watching cartoons like you," Buttercup laughed. She threw her popsicle stick across the yard and started flexing her barely toned biceps.

Bubbles laughed with her. Then she finished her popsicle, and got up to throw it out. "You're right. I guess I just forgot," she called over her shoulder and went inside.

But Bubbles was right in one aspect, Buttercup did have a special power. And it wasn't just her amazing tongue curling ability.

* * *

"Get up, lazy bones! We're going to be late for school!" Blossom all but shouted, sticking her head into her sister's messy room.

Groaning, Buttercup buried her head further into the pillow. "I don't wanna go to school… I'm skipping today,"

"You can't skip every time we have a math test, Buttercup. You're going to fail if you take another zero on a test. Do you _want_ to be grounded?"

Buttercup paused. Her sister was right, of course. She was always right.

"Okay, whatever. I'm getting up," she groaned. But she didn't move until she heard her sister close her door and walk away.

Slowly, she turned onto her back and sat up. She yawned and scratched absent-mindedly at the back of her head. Boy, convincing the Professor that they all should have their own rooms was the best thing they ever did. Privacy was the most precious thing in the world, she was sure of it.

She then concentrated on cracking her back, stretching and twisting until her back made a satisfying _crack!_ Sighing contently, she was finally ready to get up. She reached out in the dark to where she knew her lamp was.

And just when she felt her fingers brush the cool metal surface of the lamp switch, a bright flash of electricity went from the lamp to her fingers, making a loud eruption sound and effectively breaking her lamp.

Yelping, Buttercup jumped from her bed and into the air. Breathing heavily, she hovered close to the roof, staring into the darkness where she knew her lamp was.

Then she realized, her hand didn't hurt! She was just electrocuted, how was she not in pain? She stared down at her hand, wondering what exactly just happened.

She was still staring down at her hand when both of her sisters burst through her door, flooding her room with light. Her hand didn't look any different either, definitely not what you'd expect it to look like, considering she was electrocuted bad enough to blow up her lamp.

"What happened?! Were you attacked?" Blossom demanded, looking around the room for any enemy that might have snuck in.

"My stupid lamp shocked me!" Buttercup exclaimed, finally looking away from her hand to the broken, burned up remains of what used to be her favorite lamp.

"Oh my gosh! Are you okay?" Bubbles asked, flying quickly up to where her sister was at the roof of her room. She took her sister's outstretched hand and examined it. Seeing nothing wrong with it, she dropped it and grabbed the other hand, which was resting at Buttercup's side. She pouted, seeing nothing wrong with that hand either.

"My hand is fine," Buttercup grumbled, snatching her hand from her sister.

"Then what got shocked?" Blossom asked, flying up to meet her sisters.

"My hand... It doesn't hurt or anything, though. It just startled me," Buttercup answered.

Blossom's eyes narrowed at her sister's hand. "Well, that's weird," was her only response.

And it when it happened again at school later that day the girls began to suspect that it was Buttercup creating these short electric bursts. And when it happened for a third time at home, they knew that was the case. Buttercup finally found her special power.

* * *

 **The rest of the story will revolve around the girls in highschool, and might be a bit Bubbles-centric. Of course, the Rowdyruff Boys will play a role in the story too, but in later chapters.**

 **I hope you've enjoyed reading!**


	2. Chapter 1

"It's nothing, Bubbles. Calm the hell down," Buttercup groaned, clearly annoyed.

"It's not nothing! You're hurt! That's not nothing!" Bubbles cried, griping her sister's arm.

"It's not that bad, it's not even bleeding anymore," Buttercup rolled her eyes. "It was twice as bad last night. It's healing, Bubs. Chill out."

"It's _healing_ , not healed! It should be gone by now!" the blue puff was nearly crying now, clutching her sister's arm.

"We don't heal _that_ fast, brainless. I'm fine. Now let go! We're going to be late for school!"

"Buttercup, listen to me! You should stay home! Let the Professor look at your arm!" she sniffed.

"The only thing wrong with my arm is you crushing it! Let go of me!" Buttercup growled. At this Bubbles gasped and quickly released her arm. She barely had time to apologize before the third puff threw the door to Buttercup's room open.

"What are you two yelling about?! We're going to be late for school!" Blossom scolded, leaning against the door frame.

"Buttercup is hurt!" Bubbles replied, practically running to her red headed sister's side.

At this Blossom raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow at Bubbles before turning to Buttercup. She looked her over and sighed. She didn't see any new bruises or cuts on her sister, just the ones she had gotten last night. All three of them sported injuries from last night's crime fighting, but it wasn't anything too serious. Nothing to be concerned about, at least.

"It's nothing, Bloss. Bubbles just saw that gash I got yesterday, the one from being slammed into that street sign? It's nothing serious," Buttercup grumbled, staring lamely at her sister.

"It's bad, Blossom! It should have healed by now, but it didn't!" Bubbles exclaimed, looking desperately at her.

"Let me take a look at it," Blossom replied, walking up to her raven haired sister. Buttercup just sighed and outstretched her arm for her to look at. She examined the cut her sister's left forearm. It was still an open wound, but had shrunk considerably from what it was the night before. It wasn't that bad. As far as Blossom could tell, the only thing her sister had to worry about was the scar it was definitely going to leave, but Buttercup didn't seem to mind her scars. In fact, she showed them off.

"Just put a bandage on it, okay?" Blossom sighed. "The last thing we need is for you to get an infection,"

Buttercup just rolled her eyes and walked out of the room. The two remaining sisters could hear her close the bathroom door and rummage through the medicine cabinet for the bandages kept there.

"Thank you, Blossom," Bubbles sighed, smiling brightly at her sister. "I know it was probably nothing, I just worry about her sometimes... You know she won't take care of stuff like that unless you make her,"

"I know. Just... Give her some space, okay? You don't need to hound her about every cut and bruise she gets. She's sixteen years old. She can handle herself," Blossom said, patting her sister's shoulder comfortingly. "Now let's finish getting ready, okay? School starts in fifteen minutes and you aren't even changed out of your pajamas yet,"

Bubbles gasped, as if just realizing her attire, before rushing out of the room to change. Blossom laughed lightly at her sister's antics before heading to her own room to finish getting ready.

* * *

Bubbles had been staring at her blank sketch book page for roughly ten minutes. She was starting to get really frustrated, which wasn't an emotion she felt often. The assignment for her painting class was a portrait, which was standard. They've done portraits before. She did a rather lovely portrait of the Professor a few weeks back that he ended up framing and hanging in the living room.

But this time they were assigned to do a portrait of some different, someone you wouldn't be expected to paint. And she had no idea who to do. Obviously she couldn't do another piece starring her father figure, or either of her sisters. She pondered painting one of her classmates, but that was too ordinary, that wasn't unexpected! She couldn't do the Mayor, Miss Bellum, or any of her other friends either.

She groaned, resting her head on her sketch book and closing her eyes. Maybe she could make someone up! Or use a character from a cartoon! But... That would be lying, wouldn't it? She didn't want to lie...

Suddenly, she felt someone touch her shoulder, causing her to spring up from on top of her sketch book and yelp.

"Calm down, Bubbles! It's just me," her friend Elliot laughed, taking his hand off of her shoulder. "What, were you asleep or something?"

Bubbles and Elliot had been good friends since he moved to Townsville. They were ten then, and their friendship has lasted through the years. The brunette boy was always nice and had a real talent for making her laugh.

"No, I wasn't. But you scared the heck out of me," Bubbles replied with a smile, motioning for her him to sit down next to her. "What brings you over to my table anyway?"

"I wanted to see if you could come over to my place tomorrow night," he replied.

"For what? Are you throwing another party?" she asked, grinning at the thought. A party at Elliot's meant their group of friends hanging out at his house, staying up all night eating junk food and watching bad movies.

"Not really, but I invited Robin too. They put that one really bad zombie movie on Netflix, you know, that one where they had all the actors playing zombies wear baby powder as face makeup?" Elliot asked, laughing. "I want to show it to Robin, and I thought you'd want to be there when she sees it,"

"Of course!" she laughed with him. "Yeah, I'm in. I'll have to tell the Professor I'm going to someone else's house, though. He doesn't like me hanging out with guys after dark,"

"That's fine. I'm going back to my table now, though. Text me later, okay?" he asked as he got up from his seat.

"Will do! See you later, Ellie!" she replied, grinning as he laughed at her nickname for him.

She smiled down at her sketch book. At least she had tomorrow night to look forward to. Now if only she could think of someone to draw...

As she tried to ponder, she started getting a really eerie feeling come over her. She felt like she was being watched...

She quickly turned to the window, and as expected, nobody was there.

She sighed. She's got to stop being so paranoid all the time...

* * *

Running. She had to concentrate on running...

Bubbles sighed and slowed her pace down to a jog. How was she supposed to concentrate on running when she had a portrait due next week, and she didn't even know who she was painting yet? Honestly, Gym class was just a waste of time for her. She did more than enough exercise fighting crime on a daily basis; she shouldn't have to take Gym! She should be working on her classwork, not trying to run a mile on a stupid red track!

"Hey," came a breathy call from behind her.

Bubbles slowed down her job even more until Robin finally caught up to her. She was panting an awful lot...

"Are you okay?" Bubbles asked, worried about her friend.

"I'm fine!" Robin breathed out. "I only have one lap left until I'm done. God, I hate running,"

"Me too," Bubbles agreed, smiling at her. "So, are you going to Elliot's tomorrow?"

"Yeah, to watch that zombie movie? He said it's really bad," Robin replied.

"It _is_ really bad, which is why I want to see it again,"

They both laughed at her little comment. Bubbles grinned at Robin, and then noticed something above her head.

Then she froze completely. She stopped running, she stopped laughing, and she probably even stopped breathing.

A green streak of light that tore through the sky. It was fading quickly. Bubbles hoped she was just imagining it, but she knew she wasn't.

"Hey, Bubbles? You alright?" Robin asked, gently shaking her friend's shoulder.

This is what snapped Bubbles out of her thoughts and sent her shooting off of the track and back into the school building.

She had to check before she started coming to crazy conclusions. Maybe Buttercup was just skipping class! She's certainly done it before! And maybe the sun was in her eyes, that's why the green streak looked darker than normal!

The Rowdyruff Boys haven't shown their face in Townsville since they were twelve. That's five years! Why would they be back now?

But there she was, in her Chemistry class. Bubbles could see Buttercup sitting at her desk through the small window on the door.

Her hands were shaking as she sent her sister a text, asking her to meet her outside the classroom.

Bubbles watched through the window as Buttercup, who must have felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, discreetly check her phone under her desk. She looked up at the door and stared at her sister for a moment, before getting out of her seat, grabbing the bathroom pass, and leaving the classroom.

"What are you doing, brainless? Shouldn't you be in gym right now?" Buttercup asked. Despite her grumpy tone, she didn't seem all that mad to have gotten out of her Chemistry class.

"That doesn't matter right now! Where's Blossom?" Bubbles asked frantically.

Buttercup was about to make a rude retort, but stopped. Her sister looked genuinely scared, and it unnerved her. "What's going on? Bubbles, did something happen?"

"I'll tell you after we find Blossom!" Bubbles cried.

"She has AP Physics this period," Buttercup replied.

"That's just down the hall!" Bubbles exclaimed, already texting Blossom to meet them in the hallway. As soon as the text sent, she shoved her phone in her short's pocket and took off running down the hall.

Buttercup easily caught up to her, and they both waited outside the Physics room for about a minute before Blossom finally came out.

"What's this about? I can't just miss class, guys," Blossom scolded, moving to stand next to Buttercup.

"I think I saw a Rowdyruff Boy!" Bubbles exclaimed, barely able to contain her anxiety.

Blossom's eyes widened slightly. Buttercup's jaw tensed.

"I mean, I didn't see him, per se, but I saw a streak of light, the ones we make when we fly! And since it wasn't any of us, it had to have been one of them!" Bubbles explained.

"Which one of them was it?" Blossom asked, trying hard to keep a straight face. Of course, the thought of the Ruffs being back in Townsville made her anxious too, but she felt she had to appear calm to keep her sisters from panicking.

"The streak was green, so it was..." Bubbles paused, trying to remember the boy's name. "Butch, I think that's his name,"

"Yeah, it's Butch," Buttercup grumbled. Her whole body was tense and her fists were clenched.

"Calm down, girls," Blossom responded, sounding very diplomatic. "All Bubble's saw was a streak of light. That doesn't mean the Rowdyruffs are back. But it does mean that we have to stay alert, okay? Keep your guard up. If they're back in town, they could be planning anything. We have to be prepared for the worst,"

The other two Puffs nodded. They had to be prepared for the worst...

* * *

 **And there's the first real chapter! The Rowdyruff Boys still haven't made an official appearance, but they will in the next chapter.**

 **Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!**


	3. Chapter 2

"Maybe she just _thought_ she saw it," Buttercup said, not even trying to keep her voice down. "It was just a streak in the sky. Maybe an airplane flew by or something. We can't just go on high alert because Bubbles _might_ have seen something,"

Blossom, at least, was a little more considerate. She kept her voice low, but Bubbles could hear it thanks to her super hearing. "I know, Buttercup. But the Rowdyruff Boys are a serious threat. Even if she didn't see them, we need to be prepared. They've been gone for five years, and we don't know how strong they are now. If they aren't back now, they could still come back at any time. We need to be prepared," Bubbles had to struggle to hear the next part, Blossom must have been whispering. "And it'll make her feel safer, you know? Not to mention it's important for her to know that we take her seriously,"

Bubbles stopped listening after that. She turned her attention back to her vanity mirror. She was brushing her hair before she started eavesdropping on her sisters' conversation. And now she wished she hadn't.

The three had been on edge all afternoon. She knew Buttercup just didn't want to believe that the boys were back, but that didn't mean she had to doubt her own sister! She knew what she saw; it couldn't have just been an airplane! What kind of airplane leaves green streaks of light in the sky?

Just then the hotline went off, its loud buzzing making Bubbles jump. She could hear her sisters rush from Buttercup's room and into Blossom's to answer it, and she couldn't resist springing up from her chair and out of the room to join them.

She flew into her sister's room just as Blossom was answering the phone. Normally she would sit on her bed, but she was far too nervous. So she just moved next to where Buttercup stood, hovering a few inches above the ground.

"Yes, hello Mayor," Blossom greeted as she answered the phone. After a few moments, she visibly paled. Bubbles could feel her heart race and Buttercup tensed up next to her. "Mayor, are they _sure_ that's what they saw... Of course, we'll check it out, Mayor," Blossom hung up the phone and turned to her sisters. "Girls, the Rowdyruff Boys have been spotted in the park. We need to go check it out,"

* * *

"What do we do?" Bubbles asked, looking at Blossom before turning her attention back to the trio of boys on the ground. The girls were hovering in the air a ways away from them, and it doesn't seem like the boys have noticed them. Yet.

"We're going to confront them," Blossom ordered. She was in in full leader mode. "But be ready for a fight. Buttercup, keep your focus on Butch. Bubbles, you've got Boomer. I'll watch Brick. Keep your focus, girls,"

And with that, the three of them sped down to the park below, stopping in front of the three boys.

"It's about time you three showed up. We were starting to get bored waiting on you," Brick said, smirking at the three of them.

Bubbles stared at Boomer. Of course, like everyone else, he grew taller than her over the years. Though it only seemed to be by a few inches, and she could easily reach his face to punch him when it came down to that.

His hair was longer, too. It was down to his chin and he had it tucked behind his ears. He had a lopsided grin on his face, and he was staring at her. She gave him her best glare, which on made his grin wider. He looked like he was holding back a laugh. Jerk!

"What are you three doing here?" she heard Blossom demand. She could see her red headed sister put her hands on her hips out of the corner of her eyes.

"Yeah, you guys aren't welcome here! Go back to whatever hole you crawled out of!" Buttercup growled. Bubbles couldn't see her, but she was certain her sister was eager to fight, ready to lunge at... whatever the other Ruff's name was any second.

Boomer let out a small chuckle, snapping Bubbles out of her thoughts. She raised an eyebrow at him. Was he laughing at what Buttercup said? That seemed unlikely to her, but what else would he be laughing at?

"What? Is visiting your home town a crime now? Is standing in the park illegal?" Brick replied.

Bubbles knew she was supposed to stay focused on Boomer, but her curiosity got the best of her. She turned her head slightly so she could steal a glance at the other two brothers.

Brick still had the same worn baseball cap, and the same long hair. It was red and messy. He was taller and more muscular, but for the most part, he looked the same as he always had.

Bubbles caught movement from the corner of her eye and her eyes darted over to it. Or rather, him.

The green one, Buttercup's counterpart... Butch! That's what his name was. He kept moving, vibrating, really. It's as if he couldn't stop himself, like he just couldn't wait to lunge at her sister. He did that when they were younger too. The way he couldn't stop moving... She just couldn't stop staring at him. He was just so... mesmerizing.

Which was stupid, she needed to be focusing on Boomer!

And he was laughing again. What was wrong with this boy?!

"Look, we're just here for a little visit," Brick insisted, folding his arms under his chest. "Unless standing in the park is a crime, you're just wasting your time. Since we aren't doing anything illegal, you girls can't touch us,"

"That's not true, is it, Blossom?" Bubbles asked, turning to look at her sister.

Blossom smirked. "Of course not. We can still arrest you for past crimes. You've still got warrants on your heads, boys,"

"Oh, those old things? I think if you look, you'll find that they all conveniently disappeared," Brick replied, grinning wickedly. "The physical copies, the digital copies, everything. In fact, we have no paper trail at all anymore. As far as you can prove, we have never committed any crime, we don't even exist,"

Blossom froze, her smirk gone. And all three of the boys were grinning at her. "How did you manage that?" she asked.

"As if we'd tell you!" Boomer exclaimed.

"Blossom, what does that mean?" Bubbles asked, growing more anxious by the minute.

Blossom just stood there for a moment. "It means... We can't do anything. Not right now anyway. We can't just arrest them without a good reason. He's right,"

Buttercup finally turned from glaring at Butch to glare at Blossom. "What?! Blossom, that's bullshit! They're criminals; we can't just let them run free!"

"We don't have a choice," Blossom responded, still glaring at Brick. "Our hands are tied, girls,"

Bubbles wanted to cry, and she was having trouble breathing. They're criminals, how could this happen?!

Blossom finally turned to her sisters. "C'mon girls, let's go home," she said, pushing herself off the ground and already starting to go.

"But Blossom..!" Buttercup exclaimed, unwilling to just let the boys off.

" _Let's go_!" Blossom commanded, not even bothering to turn back before flying quickly to their suburban home.

Buttercup growled to herself before shooting into the air and following Blossom.

Leaving Bubbles alone with three smug looking villains.

She didn't feel comfortable leaving them unsupervised, but every part of her screamed to get out of there. Without her sisters with her...

She took one more look at the three of them before turning and taking to the air.

* * *

"This whole situation is just _fucked_!" Buttercup exclaimed, throwing herself onto Bubbles' bed.

"Don't swear, please," Bubbles pouted, looking at her sister from her own spot on the bed.

"But it is! There isn't another word that even comes close to describing this situation," she grumbled, turning her head to look at her blond sister.

"I know," Bubbles sighed, hugging her stuffed octopus close to her stomach. "This doesn't make sense. I mean, I guess I get why we can't come after them, but why would they go through the trouble of getting rid of their warrants and file-things? I mean, they've gotta be up to something evil and illegal right? So what's the point? We'll just arrest them then anyway..."

"You're right. It's all a big waste of time for them," Buttercup said, frowning. "I can't wait for them to just get it over with so we can kick their asses,"

"I just want them to go away..." Bubbles mumbled.

Buttercup's frown deepened. "Yeah... I'm gonna go to bed," she said, getting up and walking to the door. Then she paused and turned to look at her sister. "Do you need me to stay with you tonight?" she asked.

Bubbles smiled and turned to her. She loved when her usually stoic and uncaring sister showed her sweet side. "No, I'll be okay. But could you turn on my night light on your way out?"

"Of course," Buttercup agreed. She walked over to the other side of the room and flicked on the small light. She walked back over to the door, yawning lightly. "Goodnight, Bubs," she mumbled. Then she was gone.

"Goodnight!" Bubbles called before reaching over and turning her lamp off. She laid there in her bed, thankful for the soft glow of her night light. She never fully got over her fear of the dark...

She stared up at the ceiling. She wasn't going to get much sleep tonight. She just couldn't stop thinking about the Rowdyruff Boys...

* * *

"Did you see the looks on their faces?" Brick laughed, leaning the chair he was sitting on so it was balancing on only the back two legs.

"Yeah, those Powerpuffs were pretty stupid!" Boomer joined in. "Especially Bubbles. You guys should've heard her. She kept forgetting Butch's name, then she said he was 'mesmerizing',"

That earned a snort from Butch. "Really?" he asked, glancing at his blond brother. "Maybe I should set my sights on her instead of Buttercup," he said, glancing at Brick for confirmation.

"I don't care which one you go after. Just remember what the plan is," Brick said, shrugging. "We start tomorrow. Just be patient. It's gonna be easy,"

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **I know this chapter is a bit short, but I thought this would be a good place to end it. Also, the next update might come kind of late; I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to write. But I won't abandon this story completely, I promise!**

 **And a special thanks to everyone who has left a review! I really appreciate it.**


	4. Chapter 3

Bubbles looked tiredly down at her still blank sketch book page. She was trying desperately to stay awake and think of who she should use as the subject of her portrait, but it was becoming harder every minute. She had only gotten about three hours of sleep the night before, and her fatigue wasn't exactly helping her pick someone.

Maybe she could paint a villain, that was unexpected! Though finding one that would agree to pose for her would be hard. Mojo Jojo might agree to it if she stroked his ego enough, but she would have to ask her teacher if the subject had to be a human. Ace would make a striking painting with his angular face and green skin, but Bubbles doubted he'd have the patience to stay still long enough to pose for her. Him… No, Him was creepy, she wasn't even going to consider it. Princess would be annoying the entire time, so she was out of the question too.

Bubbles groaned and buried her head in her hands. This was too hard! When did art class get so complicated?

"You alright?" Elliot asked. He had decided to sit next to her today instead of shout at her from across the room as he usually did. "The last time I saw you this mopey was when Buttercup stole your stuffed octopus and hid it when we were eleven. Remember that? She told you someone stole it and didn't give it back to you for a whole week,"

"Of course I remember. That was the worst week of my life," she laughed lightly, lifting her head to look at her friend. "I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night; it's no big deal,"

"What were you up to? Late night crime fighting? Something kinky?" he asked. He laughed and poked her in the eraser end of the pencil he was holding.

"Nothing like that, you dork!" she exclaimed, snatching his pencil from his hand. "It's nothing, honestly. I'll tell you later,"

"Like at my house tonight? You're still coming, right?" he replied, trying to grab back his pencil.

Bubbles froze, effectively letting Elliot get back his pencil. "Oh no, I totally forgot about that!"

"Which is why I always remind you when we have plans," he said as he turned back to his own sketches.

"No, Ellie, I don't know if I can go. These villains are back in town and Blossom doesn't want us splitting up. It's dangerous," Bubbles explained.

"What? That's lame! You can take care of yourself just fine; I've seen you beat up some pretty buff dudes before. Besides, what villains would you run into in the suburbs? My house is totally safe," he replied, frowning at his sketch as he worked on it.

"Yeah, but these guys are pretty dangerous," she started. But then she paused for a moment. What were the chances of her running into the Ruffs in the suburbs? Pretty low, if you asked her. And if one of them was following her or something, odds are it would be Boomer. She was confident that she could hold her own in a fight against him. "You know what? I'll try to convince Bloss if I can go,"

"You're the best, Bubs!" he grinned.

* * *

"What do you mean no?!" Buttercup exclaimed, her fists tightening with anger.

"Was I not clear enough? You aren't allowed to go off on your own!" Blossom stated, with her hands on her hips and a stern frown on her face.

"What makes you think you can tell me what to do? I'm _going_ to the gym!" Buttercup hissed.

"Not alone. And since Bubbles and I don't want to go you're stuck here," Blossom replied.

"But I _promised_ Elliot and Robin I would come over tonight!" Bubbles interrupted with a fib. She figured a promise sounded a lot more convincing than 'I really, really want to go'.

But of course, it didn't work. "Well, you should have thought about what I told you this morning before you promised them anything," Blossom responded, turning her stern look over to her blonde sister.

"But I promised them yesterday!" Bubbles whined, putting on her cutest pout. It never worked on Blossom, but who knows? There's a first time for everything.

"And I promised my biceps I would work on them today!" Buttercup added, mimicking Bubbles' pout.

Blossom groaned at her sisters' behavior. "You two aren't going to drop this, are you?"

"No!" both sisters exclaimed in unison. "And we'll bug you about it all night if you don't let us go!" Bubbles added.

Blossom sighed and paused, assessing her options. After a few moments she sighed. "Fine, Buttercup, you can go. _But_ if you see any of the Ruffs, you are to come back here and get me, alright?"

"Aye aye, captain!" Buttercup exclaimed, a triumphant grin on her face. She threw up a mock salute to Blossom, grabbed her gym bag, and flew from the house in a light green blur.

"What about me?" Bubbles complained, stomping her foot on the carpeted floor of their living room. This was so typical. Buttercup got to do whatever she wanted, while Bubbles had to stay behind and be baby-sat. She could be just as tough as either of them! It was just plain unfair!

"Do you really need to go? I would feel better if you'd just stay here," Blossom said, throwing a concerned look to her sister. And at the harsh look she received, she just sighed again. "Fine, you can go too. But if Buttercup spots a Ruff, we're coming to get you. And if you see one, I want you to give them a sonic scream. As loud as you can make it. I'll be able to hear you from here,"

"Okay, Bloss," Bubbles replied. She had a huge grin on her face and she raced to pull on her light blue hoodie. "I love you!" she called back to her sister before racing out the door.

"I love you too. Stay safe," Blossom replied.

* * *

Goodness. That zombie movie was even worse the second time! Its title was _The Horrors_ too, who were they kidding? She's seen scarier things in cartoons. It should be listed under comedies.

Her flight to Elliot's house had been uneventful, not a single Rowdyruff made an appearance. And of course they didn't show up while she was there enjoying hard candy and bad movies either.

So besides her better judgement, she decided to walk back home. It was a beautifully cool night. Why would she waste it by rushing back home like a chicken? She was halfway home and she hasn't seen a single other person out, let alone a villain.

"What are you doing out so late, Blue?" came a smooth, low voice from behind her.

Bubbles let out a high pitched yelp and quickly turned to face none other than Butch. He was standing a few feet behind her, grinning mischievously.

She froze. God, why did it have to be _him_? Why couldn't it have been Boomer? Heck, even Brick would have been better! But Butch? The toughest fighter of the Rowdyruff Boys? Buttercup's counterpart? She didn't know if she could hold her own in a fight against him. Maybe she should just let out a sonic scream now. Blossom would hear her and come to help…

No, she wasn't going to do that. How was she supposed to prove that she could take care of herself and hold her own if she called for help before she even tried to fight? Besides, he hasn't even attacked yet!

In fact, it didn't look like he was planning on attacking her at all. He was being too still for that. He looked relaxed, and he wasn't moving at all. Before he started fighting, he vibrated and got this insane, anxious look on his face. As if he couldn't wait to attack his victim.

He looked calm now, so she didn't think she needed to let out a sonic scream just yet. But that doesn't mean she wasn't on guard, ready to let one out at any time.

"Oh, me? I'm just out on a little walk," Bubbles replied, faking a sweet smile. "What are you doing in this part of town?"

"I'm out for a walk, the same as you," he said, mimicking her smile.

Bubbles almost laughed at that. She took a second to look him over. He was clad in a simple white t-shirt, jeans, and a leather jacket. His spikey hair was a wild mess, but it suited him. With the yellowish light of the street lamp behind them, his face was covered in shadows, and it made his eyes a very dark shade of green. He looked almost beautiful, in a dangerous, villainous sort of way. Like how you would imagine a Disney prince's evil brother would look. Beautiful, but twisted.

But of course, all three of the brothers looked like that. Beautifully twisted.

"Isn't that just great?" Bubbles laughed nervously, wanting desperately to leave. "Well, if you don't mind, I'm going to go home. You wouldn't _believe_ how much homework I've got tonight," she replied lamely. Before he had a chance to reply, she was gone in a flash of blue.

* * *

"You're sure you didn't see any of them at the gym, Buttercup? Or on the way there?" Blossom asked from her spot on the living room couch.

"Nope," she replied, not looking away from her game. "The only thing of note I saw at the gym were some _really_ attractive babes. I don't pick up chicks at a gym, but damn I was tempted. You should have seen this one girl,"

"I only wanted to know if you've seen any of the Rowdyruffs," Blossom interrupted, rolling her eyes playfully at her sister. "How about you, Bubbles?"

Instead of answering, she just let out a nervous laugh from her spot at the floor. She could feel both of her sisters turn to stare at her, but she avoided their gazes. After a minute she sighed and gave in. "I saw Butch on my way home,"

"You did what?!" both of her sisters demanded in unison.

Bubbles flinched lightly at their tone. "He didn't attack me or anything, which is why I didn't call for help! He just showed up out of nowhere when I was coming home! And he wasn't all fidgety like he is when we fight, so I just ran away!" she explained, still avoiding her sisters' faces.

Blossom sighed and Buttercup grumbled something under her breath that Bubbles had to fight not to hear.

"You need to be more careful, what if you had gotten hurt?" Blossom said.

"I know, I'm sorry," Bubbles mumbled. But honestly, she wasn't feeling too guilty. She had finally figured out who to use as the subject for her portrait.

* * *

 **Another chapter down! I'm sorry this one took me so long. Also the movie mentioned in this chapter,** ** _The Horrors_** **, is based on a real zombie movie I've seen. It's terrible.**

 **Next chapter we'll finally see Buttercup's electricity powers in action.**

 **And I'd like to give a brief apology to everyone who has reviewed with requests for Buttercup/Butch, Bubbles/Boomer, and Brick/Blossom. I do appreciate your input and I did consider putting them in, but those ships just aren't my cup of tea. While this story might have _touches_ (barely any) of romance, this story isn't going to be about romance. But I do value my reviewers' input and I hope you'll stick with this story even without those couples.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 4

"Suck it up, Buttercup," Bubbles mumbled from her side of the couch.

Buttercup glared at her. "Don't make me punch you. I've hit people for less than that."

"Oh, please. You're just mad because you waited to do all of your Trigonometry homework tonight. You had a week to do it, dummy," Bubbles replied. She stuck her tongue out at her sister.

"Why are you such a bitch? I thought you were supposed to be the nice sister," Buttercup grumbled.

The blonde gasped. "Excuse me? I am not!"

"You are too!" Buttercup shot back.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

" _Am not_!" Bubbles all but screamed. She got up from her spot on the couch with her fists clenched.

" _Are too_!" Buttercup shouted and jumped in front of her. She quickly pulled up her fist. She was ready to knock Bubbles' other front tooth out.

" ** _Girls_**!" Blossom shouted, quickly flying down the stairs and in between the two.

Buttercup hesitated for a moment before letting her arm fall back to her side. She couldn't hit Bubbles without hitting Blossom first, and she didn't feel like fighting both girls tonight.

"Can you two go a week without trying to kill each other?" Blossom scolded.

"No," both Bubbles and Buttercup mumbled in unison.

Blossom rolled her pale pink eyes. She was about to lecture her sisters about maturity when the hotline rang. All three girls' heads swiveled to the stairs. They quickly flew up and into Blossom's room. Bubbles reached the special phone first, so she answered it.

"Hello Mayor," she greeted. "What do you need?"

"Oh, Bubbles! Thank goodness you answered! There's a giant monster destroying Townsville!" the Mayor's shrill voice exclaimed.

"We're on it," Bubbles answered before slamming the phone back onto the receiver. She turned to her sisters. "There's another giant monster destroying the city!"

"Finally, some action," Buttercup cheered.

* * *

This monster was _big_ , the Mayor hadn't exaggerated. The monster was easily taller than any of Townsville's sky scrapers. He was rather ugly too. Black scales covered his body and he had a long reptilian tail that he kept smashing into buildings.

But his most notable feature was his mouths, because he had two of them. One on his face, below his large yellow eyes, and one on what the girls guessed was his neck.

"Formation Omega Red," Blossom yelled to her sisters.

They both nodded before taking flight in opposite directions. Buttercup went for the back of the monster, Bubbles took the front, and Blossom got the right side.

As soon as all three girls got within five feet of the ugly beast they shot their laser eye heat rays at him.

The monster screamed in both irritation and pain from both of his mouths. He quickly flicked his tail in Buttercup's direction, effectively swatting her out of the sky.

"Buttercup!" the two remaining Powerpuffs cried. They ceased their lasers to watch their sister hit the pavement.

The monster took advantage of their distraction and knocked them to the ground as well.

Bubbles grunted as her body slammed into the road, creating a giant crater.

The battle had been going on like this for ten minutes, and all three girls were sick of being slammed into the ground.

"Blossom, this isn't working," Bubbles whined as she sat up in her crater.

"I know," she huffed as she shook debris out of her hair. She turned to Buttercup, who was digging gravel out of her elbow. "Want to light him up?"

Buttercup paused, and then grinned. "You know I do."

Blossom stared back up at the monster. "Buttercup, you get into position. Bubbles, you drench him. I'll handle the distraction."

The two other Puffs nodded before quickly flying to their assigned positions.

Buttercup hovered close to the monster's gigantic stomach. She held her arms out, palms facing the beast.

Blossom flew in intricate patterns around him. The monster was too busy trying to swat her out of the sky to pay attention to her sisters.

Bubbles flew to the large water tank on the very edge of the city. She ripped it off of its stand, careful not to break it and release the water. She then flew back at the monster as quickly as she could. Once she was in range, she used her momentum to launch the tank at the monster's head with tremendous force.

The water tank hit its mark. The monster roared in pain when the tank hit his temple. He was now drenched in water.

Blossom and Bubbles sped away from him, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire.

"Now!" Blossom shouted.

Buttercup grinned as the white hot electricity shot from her hands and onto the monster's wet stomach.

The result was immediate. The monster went silent. He then fell off to the side, his enormous body crushing some empty buildings.

* * *

"Well, that's new," Boomer sighed from his spot on the rooftop. They must have been perched only twenty feet away from the action.

"Honestly, I'm not surprised her power ended up being so deadly," Brick said, eyeing the dead monster.

"So what should we do?" Boomer asked, frowning at Brick.

"Avoid fighting them on the coast or near a pool," Butch mumbled sarcastically, his eyes never leaving the monster.

Brick rolled his eyes at his brothers. "Now that we know what her special power is, we can start the next phase of the plan."

Boomer grinned, "Finally, the fun part!"

* * *

 **I'm sorry that I took so long to update. I got caught up in writing my other stories. School work takes up a lot of my time and energy too.**

 **This chapter is a tad short, but I thought this would be a good place to end. There's going to be a lot more of the Rowdyruff Boys in the next chapter.**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	6. Chapter 5

Bubbles stared down at the sketch in her lap for a solid minute before groaning and erasing Butch's face for the 10th time. She just couldn't seem to get it right! Was his nose straight, or was it crooked from fighting? What was the exact shape of his eyes? How defined was his jaw?

The fact that she couldn't answer these questions was tremendously frustrating. There was no way she was handing in a portrait that wasn't as accurate as she could make it. She was better than that! Art is her forte, art is where she excels, she isn't going to hand in a portrait that she knows isn't up to her standards.

She considered asking Buttercup for her opinion on the sketch, but she decided against it. What would Buttercup think if she knew Bubbles was painting a portrait of one of their greatest enemies? She was sure her sister would get the wrong idea…

Bubbles' frustration was growing by the second, and frankly, it didn't suit her.

She shoved her sketchbook and pencils into her grey messenger bag, threw on one of her hoodies, and flew out of her bedroom window.

* * *

As soon as she sat down, she pulled her phone out of her bag. She shot Blossom a quick text that she was at the Townsville Park, and that if there was trouble to come find her. She really hoped there wouldn't be, though. She wasn't sure she could explain what she was planning to do here, or who she was going to do it with.

She shoved her phone into the large middle pocket of her hoodie and pulled her sketchbook and pencils out of her bag. She flipped to the next blank page and began doodling to pass the time.

She was drawing aimless little sketches for about ten minutes before she felt his eyes on her. She felt herself getting nervous, but she took a deep breath and reminded herself that she planned to meet him here. There was no need to be nervous. _Hopefully._

She put on her best fake smile and looked up at him. "It took you long enough. I was getting bored of waiting for you,"

Butch raised an eyebrow at her, "You were waiting for me?"

"Well, I guessed you would show up if I went outside. And I was right," she hummed.

He was silent for a moment before he asked, "Why did you want to see me?"

"Because of this," she mumbled as she flipped her sketchbook back to the half-drawn portrait of him.

She stayed silent for a moment to let him see the sketch. She was too nervous to look up at his face. Oh god, what if he got the wrong idea?!

"It's for my art class," she blurted out, still staring down at her sketch. "We're doing portraits of people we wouldn't normally paint, and…" she trailed off, finally looking up at his face to judge his reaction.

He looked as neutral as he did before. Man, either he's made of stone, or she just hasn't figured out how to read him yet.

"So… what? Do you need a picture of me to work off or something?"

His question pulled her out of her thoughts. "Well, no. I don't really like working from pictures. I'd rather use you as a model. But you can say no if you want!" she blurted out the last part quickly.

She realized how weird this was. They were enemies, he had no reason to agree to model for her. He had no reason not to attack her. She expected him to say no.

"Fine," he said, taking a seat next to her on the bench.

She blinked. "Wait, what?"

"I said I'll model for you. What, do you not want me to?" he asked, sounding slightly… amused?

"No! I mean, I do want you to model for me. I just expected you to say no," she answered.

"I didn't. So get going before I change my mind," he said, smirking at her.

She genuinely smiled at him for the first time in her life, before starting to sketch out his features. His crooked nose, almond shaped eyes, his jaw line, everything was coming together much smoother now.

* * *

"Done," Bubbles sighed, dropping her pencil on her paper.

"It took you long enough," Butch mumbled as he took a drag of his cigarette. He looked down at her sketch as he blew smoke out of his nose. "This isn't half bad, Blue,"

"Thank you!" she beamed at his praise. She was absentmindedly rubbing the space between her pointer and middle finger on her right hand, it was sore from drawing non-stop for almost half an hour. They had sat in a comfortable silence the whole time.

"So, you don't need me anymore?" he asked.

"I didn't say that. I'll still need you to model when I do the actual painting. I'm just done with the sketch," she said as she put her pencils and sketchbook back into her bag.

"When are we doing that?" he asked, flicking some ash from his cigarette onto the ground. He mumbled, "Hopefully not today, I'm already bored out of my mind,"

"No, not today, I'm too tired," she yawned. "But definitely tomorrow. It's due on Friday, and today's already Wednesday. I'll transfer the sketch onto the canvas tonight and do all of the base painting, so it shouldn't take us too long tomorrow,"

"And where do you expect us to do this? Your house?" he asked, looking at her from the corner of his eye.

She froze for a moment. Oh no, she had no idea where she could paint him! She couldn't just take him home, he could steal something! Or hurt the Professor! Or her sisters could walk in on them in her room and get the wrong idea! They would kill her!

She thought about it for a moment before asking, "Do you know where Pokey Oaks High School is?"

"Yeah," he answered nonchalantly.

"Good. Meet me there tomorrow at four, and don't be late!" she said. "I've got to get home before I miss dinner. I'll see you tomorrow!" she smiled at him before she flew off.

Butch watched her go. He stayed of the bench for a moment to finish his cigarette before dropping it on the ground and squishing the filter and ash under his boot.

He chuckled to himself, this was turning out to be easier than he expected. He wondered if his brothers were having as much luck with their targets.

With one last glance at the fading blue streak in the sky, he took off in the opposite direction, towards Townsville Woods.

* * *

 **I'm… embarrassed that it took me this long to update. Seriously, it's been far too long, you guys deserved this update months ago. School pretty much stole all of my time and motivation for writing, but I've finally graduated high school and have a few months until college steals my soul, so I'm going to get back into writing**

 **Also, if you've been following this story since the beginning, you saw my whole debate in my notes (which I have since deleted, since I now find them embarrassing) as to whether or not to add romance to this story. Well, I actually decided (and I won't change my decision this time) to add romance as a big part of the story. I'm a huge sucker for romance, and ButchxBubbles is my guilty pleasure PPG ship. Hopefully you guys still like the story!**

 **I'd also like to give a shout-out to my friend, AButterfly'sTrueColours! She helped me develop some ideas for this story, finally got me to decide on my whole romance-discourse, and helped me get my motivation back. I probably wouldn't have updated for another few weeks if it wasn't for her.**

 **The next chapter will be mixing it up a bit, and actually won't be totally Bubbles-centric! Plus the other two Ruffs make a larger appearance.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


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